Indian mobile brands are struggling to stay afloat

Since 2015, the share of local mobile brands has been dwindling substantially in India, after the influx of Chinese manufacturers. Indian handset players compete mainly in the feature phone category, and entry-level and mid-level smartphone segments, leaving out the flagship high-end segment to the Korean, American and Chinese giants.

Over time, various international brands have entered the feature phone and budget smartphone space, impacting the sales of their Indian counterparts considerably. As per an IDC report, the smartphone market is currently dominated by Xiaomi, Samsung and BBK Electronics (that owns brands like Oppo, OnePlus and Vivo). “Indian brands have less than 2% share of the overall smartphone market,” says Navkendar Singh, research director, IDC India. He doubts their chances of survival over the next five years.